First off, allow me to express my sorrow at Jens Voigt's horrific crash today. By all accounts he'll be okay, but it was brutal to see. I can't imagine the pain. Sliding down a mountain at 45mph on your face, after having broken your cheekbone...well I hope I never experience it. He was allegedly knocked out - even with the best efforts of his helmet - so at least he wasn't conscious for it. I hope. Jens is one tough mofo, though, so if anyone hops back on the bike with more fire than ever, it'll be him. He's an inspiration to watch both on the bike and off. I only hope he returns for at least one more Tour - I'm sure this isn't the way he wants to remember his last go-round in France.
If you haven't already, buy "Hell on Wheels". It's a great documentary of the Tour, does a fantastic job capturing the feeling of the riders. The optimism and excitement at the start, then the gradual descent into grinding misery as it drags on and on. Jens is featured, and his humor and personality alone are worth the cost many times over.
In other news, I'm a terrible cyclist. Everyone has told me that to get faster, I need to take time off. I.e. ride hard, then either take a day off or at the very least ride "easy". Well, when the weather's nice and I have time I can't not ride. And if I'm on a bike, I can't not attempt to go faster. If you're not breathing hard, heart pounding and legs burning, what's the point? Some kind of psychological issue, most likely. Oh, well, what can you do?
2 comments:
"Time off" just means at least one day per week. If Day 7 rolls around and it's a choice day I'll go ahead and ride and enjoy it - then take the next day off. Just the frequency of rainy days is almost enough to satisfy the need for rest. Typically I just take off every Sunday - it works out pretty well because 1) I'm trashed from yesterday's ride, 2) I've got a ton of crap to take care of at home because I've spent so much time riding.
Don't worry - you're not gonna overtrain, not by a long shot.
Hi Ted, thanks for stopping by! That's good to hear. I'm not so much worried about overtraining (as defined) but recovery. I don't seem to have much choice in the matter, haha, so it will all work out. Headed out to Babler shortly if you're in the mood for a super-slow ride! May wander into Wildwood a bit as well.
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